National Super Quiz Bee (1993âÂÂ2005), originally known as the Quiz Bee (1977âÂÂ1992) and later, as the National Quiz Bee (2006âÂÂ2013, 2015âÂÂ2016), was a Philippine television quiz show broadcast by IBC (1996âÂÂ2001), Studio 23 (2005âÂÂ2013), and TFC (2009?âÂÂ2010?). Hosted by Rowena Zulueta, Eddie Lacsi, Bingbing Josue, Pettizou Tayag, Atom Araullo, Lea Salonga, Spanky Enriquez, Anthony Suntay, and Danny Fajardo; the program began as a national spelling bee in 1977, and has grown into an annual nationwide contest awarding champions in Philippine history and culture, mathematics, science and technology, and general information and international affairs.
The show currently holds the record for the longest-running national academic contest for students (39 years: 1977âÂÂ2013, 2015âÂÂ2016) and the longest-running televised quiz show (15 years: 1996âÂÂ2001 and 2005âÂÂ2013) in the Philippines.
The National Quiz Bee was organized by the Quiz Bee Foundation. The program received support from the private sector, which mostly provided for the prizes and TV coverage. The National Quiz Bee was also endorsed and assisted by various agencies of the Philippine government, including the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Senate of the Philippines, and the Office of the President.
In 1976, Rasty Tayag and the Philippine Department of Education (as the erstwhile Department of Education, Culture, and Sports), launched a nationwide elementary spelling contest dubbed the "1976 Spelling Bee Contest". It was known as the Quiz Bee the following year.
Since 1977, the Quiz Bee has been an annual event. In that same year, Rasty M. Tayag registered the term "quiz bee" as a copyright and trademark with the Philippine Patent Office.
During the ASEAN Super Quiz Bees in 1979 and 1996, the category of Philippine history and culture was expanded to include ASEAN history and culture.
In 1983, Rasty and Gay Tayag, together with eminent people in the field of education, established the Quiz Bee Foundation, with Carlos P. Romulo as Founding Chairman and Rasty M. Tayag as president. Apart from the organizers, the Founding Trustees were composed of: then University of the Philippines President Edgardo Angara, Dr. Helena Benitez, Dr. Estefania Aldaba - Lim, Atty. Efrenilo Cayanga, and then Metro Manila Governor Mel Mathay.
With the passing of Carlos P. Romulo in 1990, Rasty Tayag assumed the position of Chairman of the Quiz Bee Foundation.
In 1993, in consonance with the Philippines 2000 program of President Fidel V. Ramos, the competition now included high school and college students, and the name was changed to the National Super Quiz Bee.
In 2005, the Philippine Daily Inquirer awarded life-sized masterpiece Guyito (carabao) fiberglass statues, sculpted by artist Juan Sajid Imao and decorated by the country's foremost painters, to 20 public high schools that ranked highest in the 26th National Super Quiz Bee.
Each artist was free to interpret that year's theme, "The Power of Knowing". The awarded schools and the painters who designed their Guyito were:
At the Ayala Museum, the student awardees, their teacher-coaches, school officials and parents also mingled with the country's top industry leaders (Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Teresita Sy, Robina Gocongwei, Manny Pangilinan, Rico Tantoco to name a few) and had front row seats to a concert with Lea Salonga (former Quiz Bee host) and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra.
From January to May 2006, Inquirer representatives visited the 20 selected schools/cities to turn over the sculptures. In addition, a one-day Inquirer Campus Journalism Workshop was held at each school.
Throughout its existence, the National Quiz Bee has been hosted by numerous people, including the following. It is common for them to share a single episode, with one acting as quizmaster, while the other recapped scores and made other announcements:
Summit of the Super Quiz Bee was a multi-day camp (usually 4 days) composed with tours, seminars, and fellowships for regional champions and respective teacher-coaches competing in the National Finals.
The National Finals competition was the highlight of the summit, wherein the various contestants and their teacher-coaches dressed in traditional regional attire during the stage competition. A special prize is given to the Best in National Costume. The National Finals was open to the public.
For non-NCR regions, Division and Regional Eliminations are usually in schools and DepEd offices within their region.
NCR District, Division, and Regional Eliminations are usually held in major shopping malls around Metro Manila and are televised.
The National Finals and the Summit of the Super Quiz Bees, plus the Special Edition Super Quiz Bees, have been held at the following locations:
Prizes for Regional Champions have been given at some point, although this is not consistent every year.
Prizes for National Champions have slightly varied from year to year (depending on sponsorship). Example below is from the 28th National Quiz Bee (2007):
The National Super Quiz Bee does not give cash prizes. The Quiz Bee Foundation believes that money is not a good motivation for self-achievement for school students, especially in their formative years.
In addition to the annual National Quiz Bee, the Quiz Bee has also organized ASEAN (in 1979 and 1996) and World (in 1990) Quiz Bees. National Champions of the immediately previous National Quiz Bee represented the country against competitors from ASEAN-member countries and worldwide, respectively.
There has also been a Quiz Bee for the Handicapped in 1988?.